Salsa Verde

The first time I had this sauce was as a dip in a Mexican restaurant almost two decades ago. When we sat at the table they brought the usual bowl of chips with pico de gallo and a couple of bowls of salsa. The red one I recognized but the green one was a mystery. It tasted great and I was hooked. Since then I never have enchiladas or tamales without it. It is made with tomatillos and poblano pepper.

I have heard that a salsa by this name is available in little packets at one fast food chain. That is a prepackaged unrelated cousin. This is the real deal and it is really easy to make. Once you make it you will want to do it again.

You will need
1 poblano pepper
6-7 tomatillos
1 clove garlic
1 serrano pepper

In a pan roast the poblano pepper until the skin is charred. You could also do it directly on the gas stove or you could you your grill. The desired result is a charred skin. When done wrap the pepper in aluminium foil and let it sit for a few minutes.

Cook the tomatillos, clove of garlic and the serrano pepper in 2 cups of water. If you like a little heat in the sauce use two serrano peppers.

When the tomatillos are completely cooked turn off the heat.

Take the poblano pepper out of the foil and scrape the charred skin off. Cut it open and remove all the seeds.

Chop it up and put it in a blender along with the cooked tomatillos, garlic and serrano pepper. You may want to remove the seeds of the serrano pepper to cut down the heat. Blend with a little of the water that was used to cook the tomatillos. Season with salt and paprika as needed.

Salsa verde is ready. Eat it with chips or pour it over your enchiladas and tamales.